Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a comparative assessment of a country's integrity performance. Provide a brief analysis (not a description) of this index and its ranking using concepts from the readings and lectures.

1. What global conditions gave rise to such an index?

2. Using the most recent data, identify the five countries with the lowest and the five with the highest CPI scores according to this index. What are the trends and similarities between CPI scores and the level of economic, political, and social development of a country (remember the Gapminder data)? Specifically, what institutional aspects or characteristics of governmental structure are common among the countries listed at the top and bottom? How does this fit with the neo-mercantilist, liberal, or critical perspectives?